Digg to release beta Google Reader replacement in June

Digg has announced its Google Reader replacement will receive a beta release in June.

The popular social news aggregator revealed the product is being built "with experimentation in mind" as it continues to survey users for what they would like to see in the new reader.

Google Reader

Results from the second survey shine some light on what to expect from the Digg-run product. Some 8,600 responses suggest that 75% share news via email, trailed by 55% who said they shared news via Facebook.

However, data showed that social features were not important to Google Reader users. Around half said they "never" used them before their removal in 2011, while only 17% said they used them "often".

A third of respondents said they do not use 'read it later' services but Digg claimed it would aim to support popular services like Pocket and Evernote.

40% also indicated that they would be willing to pay for a Google Reader replacement.

"We need to build a product that people can rely on and trust will always be there for them," the blog post reads.

"We're not sure how pricing might work, but we do know that we'd like our users to be our customers, not our product."

The June beta release date will be ahead of the Google Reader closure, due to take place on July 1.